About this project

Oru Kayak: the origami folding boat

$443,806

pledged of $80,000 goal

730

backers

"A marvel of compact choreography" —Fast Company

THE ORU KAYAKThe Oru Kayak is an incredible, high-performance boat that folds out of a compact case. Inspired by origami, this innovative kayak transform quickly, easily— and almost magically. Stash it in a trunk, check it on a plane, stow it aboard a sailboat, or hike it in to remote waters. It’s full size (12' long), super light (25 lbs), and quick to assemble (5 min). On the water it’s fast, stable, and handles incredibly well.

The Oru Kayak makes the wonder and discovery of the great outdoors accessible: easy foldability transforms boating from a special occasion to anytime, anywhere.

Each Oru Kayak is engineered of a single sheet of double-layered plastic. The single seam is sealed with a watertight rubber gasket. Solid ribs offer strength and rigidity.The corrugated plastic skin is extremely tough and durable.

PERFORMANCE

"A marvel of compact choreography." —Fast Company

"The Oru Kayak design is revolutionary. The boats are sturdy and incredibly light. They are as comfortable as any other sea or whitewater boat I've paddled. They track really well and turn on a dime. The maneuverability makes forward progress into a crushing headwind almost easy. The implications for urban paddlers and for remote expeditionary paddling are truly exciting." — Greg Miller, Outdoor Filmmaker & former NOLS instructor

"It accelerates like a rocket, and carves a turn like a dream." —Bill Vonnegut, Neptune's Rangers, professional kayak guide/instructor

"Finally, city dwellers can own a kayak that stores in a closet and travels on transit, AND still handles burly waters; plus, it's gorgeous."—Lisa Fisher, San Francisco

"It was wonderful! The Oru Kayak design felt fast and comfortable. You completely forget that it's a neatly folded piece of plastic. After kayaking around the marina and the larger waves of the San Francisco Bay, I was still completely dry without a drop of water inside the vessel."—David Lang, Make Magazine, CoFounder, OpenROV

While the Oru Kayak is designed to be beginner-friendly, it’s also great fun for experts! We’ve done lots of user-testing with pro-level kayakers, in all kinds of conditions. It’s perfect for bays, lakes, and slow rivers (it is not designed for whitewater or rock gardening). With normal care, an Oru Kayak will last for many years.

ASSEMBLYThe Oru Kayak is assembled using standard strap-and-buckle hardware. No tools are needed. With a bit of practice, it takes only five minutes to assemble or pack up. Full instructions and a detailed assembly video will be provided.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULEOru Kayaks will be proudly made in California! We’re committed to local manufacturing and sustainable production, and have optimized the supply chain to reduce our shipping miles and carbon footprint.

We’ll ship in Spring 2013, in time for (Northern Hemisphere) paddling season. Here's our schedule to get Oru Kayaks to you!- November: Make final product refinements. Make lots of new Kickstarter friends.- December: Place component orders- January: Set up assembly facility- February: Assemble first edition of kayaks- Mar: Ship first edition Oru Kayaks. Begin assembly of first batch.- April: Continue assembly.- May : Ship out first batch. Assemble second batch. - June: Ship out second batch.

FUNDINGYour support will help us fund the first few production runs of Oru Kayaks. We've gotten so much great feedback, and are excited to be able to share the Oru Kayak with you. Our $80,000 funding goal will cover the extensive tooling and setup costs for producing the components, materials and hardware, and facility rental and labor for assembly.

REWARDSYou can pre-order an Oru kayak; we're doing a few different batches for different shipping dates in Spring 2013. Also, all kayaks will come with a printable poster for holiday gifting— so you can give a future Oru Kayak to a special someone. In addition to Oru Kayaks, we’re offering some great rewards.

Thank you! $5Every bit of support helps! You'll receive Oru Kayak updates, share our journey into production, and get a shout out tweet!

Stay Dry Bag: $20 Stash a wallet and cell phone in an Oru Kayak-branded dry bag—essential for any adventures on the water!

Early Bird Oru Kayak / first batch: $750 (limit 50) Order first, and get a $50 off your Oru Kayak. Free shipping in the US, plus a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting.

Oru Kayak / second batch: $800 (limit 200)Your very own Oru Kayak, shipped by May 2013. Free shipping in the US, plus a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting.

Oru Kayak / third batch: $800 (limit 200)Your very own Oru Kayak, shipped by June 2013. Free shipping in the US, plus a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting.

Oru Kayak / signed, limited edition batch: $1000 (limit 50)Your very own Oru Kayak, shipped by March 2013. You will be among the first 50 Oru Kayak owners, and your boat will be personally signed and numbered by the designer. Free shipping in the US, plus a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting.

Oru Kayak Day on the Bay: $3000 (limit 5)Your very own Oru Kayak, and a half-day excursion in the San Francisco Bay with the Oru Kayak team. We'll share our journey, design inspiration, and a great meal, while paddling around the scenic SF Bay. No experience required. Travel to SF not included. Free shipping in the US, plus a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting.

Tomales Bay Luxury Weekend Getaway + Oru Kayak: $10,000 (limit 1) Our deluxe offering is an unforgettable experience on Tomales Bay, one of the best kayaking spots on the West Coast. You'll receive an Oru Kayak and a weekend for two people at an amazing waterfront house. You can kayak off the house's dock into calm waters, visit quiet beaches, and see abundant wildlife. Oyster lunch included! Travel to Tomales Bay not included. Hand-silkscreened art print by Saturate Design for holiday gifting.

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPINGWe’re offering free shipping to the lower 48 for Kickstarter backers, but we can’t do this for those in Alaska, Hawaii, or abroad. International backers will be responsible for applicable tariffs and customs fees, as well as shipping. Please contact us to get shipping prices to your address.

FAQs

How durable is an Oru Kayak? The manufacturer rates the skin material for 20,000 fold cycles. We've done a lot of hardcore user testing, and never punched a leak.

Will it come with a warranty? We're offering an one-year warranty for all Kickstarter purchases.

How much gear can it carry? The Oru Kayak has a capacity of 260 lbs. There's enough storage space inside to support short camping trips.

SAFETY & DISCLAIMER

We've designed the Oru Kayak to be as strong and safe as possible with normal use, but it's still a boat. That means you can capsize or get hurt. Please wear a Personal Flotation Device (life jacket) at all times, and use a spare paddle, bilge pump, spray skirt and float bags if you're going in open water. Stay aware of currents, weather, submerged obstacles, and other boats and swimmers. Use common sense, and don't go beyond your experience level.

All of the prototypes shown in the photos and video are fully functional and tested, but details shown may change in the final product development and manufacturing.

ABOUT US

We’re a small, dedicated team of designers, makers, and manufacturing experts. We’ve been working on the Oru Kayak for more than four years. Together, we’re thrilled to launch Oru Kayaks into the world. We strongly believe that spending time outdoors makes people happier, healthier, and more productive. We see our kayaks as a way to explore and connect with the natural world, even in cities. We hope your Oru Kayak journeys are as fun and inspiring as ours have been.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

We thank you all for your support, and want to express special gratitude to those who’ve helped us get to this point!

Risks and challenges

Like any innovative hardware product, the Oru Kayak is challenging to produce at scale. Our team has worked hard to address these logistical and fulfillment challenges in advance. One member of our team is a manufacturing expert with over 40 years of experience in manufacturing and assembly, and others bring solid experience in product design and operations.

PRODUCT
The steps from prototype to fully-tested, manufactured product can be long and complicated; prototypes aren't always a reliable indicator of how the final product will perform. To address this, we have:
- Built over 25 working prototypes, not just one or two.
- Extensively tested prototypes for performance and durability. This has included extreme and abusive conditions, to make sure we have a product that meets rigorous safety and endurance standards.

MANUFACTURING
Making a scalable product from working prototypes is another major step. Many comparable products have run into problems when a preliminary part turns out to be more complicated or expensive than expected. We have designed this product from the beginning with manufacturability in mind. We will streamline the process by:
- Manufacturing in the USA, to retain tight control of operations, quality and logistics.
- Using many of the same manufacturing techniques at scale, as we have used in the working prototypes. Our current prototype skins have been made and tested using the same types of dies that will be used in final production. Many other components are lasercut or off-the-shelf, minimizing tooling complications and design/engineering transitions between prototype fabrication and full manufacturing.
- Using established relationships with contract manufacturers. We have built the skin prototypes with our manufacturer, who understands our product and specifications. We have hard quotes for all of the other components. Our manufacturing partners have vetted and approved our production plans, anticipated quantities and schedule.

FULFILLMENT
Many Kickstarter projects have run into shipping delays. We want to keep our backers happy! So, we are:
- Maintaining a realistic timeframe for scaling up production.
- Dividing production into batches: instead of trying to get 500 boats out by one shipping date, we'll start with smaller runs (for the limited edition and early birds), followed by two batches at a higher capacity. This will let us manage manufacturing and fulfillment at a manageable scale and pace.
- Limiting the number of Oru Kayaks availble on Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

LASERCUT ORU KAYAK MODEL. Just like the origami models used to develop the Oru Kayak. Mount this scale model of the Oru Kayak on the wall or keep it on your desk for inspiration. Made from heavyweight white mat board. (US shipping included. Please add $35 for international shipping)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $750 or more
About $750

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL. Get a $50 discount for ordering first! You'll get your very own Oru Kayak plus a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting. (US shipping included. International backers: please refer to the shipping info section in the text.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $800 or more
About $800

FIRST BATCH ORU KAYAK. An Oru Kayak from the first production run. It will also come with a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting. (US shipping included. International backers: please refer to the shipping info section in the text.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $800 or more
About $800

SECOND BATCH ORU KAYAK. An Oru Kayak from the second production run. It will also come with a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting. (US shipping included. International backers: please refer to the shipping info section in the text.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

LIMITED EDITION SIGNED ORU KAYAK. You'll receive your Oru Kayak before anyone else, and it will come from a signed, numbered edition of the first 50 ever produced. It will also come with a printable, numbered poster for holiday gifting. (US shipping included. International backers: please refer to the shipping info section in the text.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $3,000 or more
About $3,000

ORU KAYAK + A DAY ON THE SF BAY. A beautiful, innovative Oru Kayak plus a day in the SF Bay kayaking with the Oru Kayak team. It will be a fun all-day paddle and picnic in the San Francisco Bay. We'll share our journey, design inspirations, and plans for the future while enjoying amazing views, food, and wildlife.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

TOMALES BAY LUXURY WEEKEND GETAWAY + 1 ORU KAYAKS. You'll receive an Oru Kayak and an unforgettable weekend for two to four people at an amazing waterfront house on Tomales Bay in Northern California. You can kayak off the dock into one of the finest paddling areas on the West Coast—with calm water, quiet beaches, amazing scenery and abundant wildlife. Oyster lunch included, as well as a hand-silkscreened art print by Saturate Design for holiday gifting.